Isaiah 53-55

Isaiah 53-55New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

53 Who has believed what we have heard?And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,and like a root out of dry ground;he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.3 He was despised and rejected by others;a man of suffering[a] and acquainted with infirmity;and as one from whom others hide their faces[b]he was despised, and we held him of no account.

4 Surely he has borne our infirmitiesand carried our diseases;yet we accounted him stricken,struck down by God, and afflicted.5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,crushed for our iniquities;upon him was the punishment that made us whole,and by his bruises we are healed.6 All we like sheep have gone astray;we have all turned to our own way,and the Lord has laid on himthe iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,yet he did not open his mouth;like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,so he did not open his mouth.8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away.Who could have imagined his future?For he was cut off from the land of the living,stricken for the transgression of my people.9 They made his grave with the wickedand his tomb[c] with the rich,[d]although he had done no violence,and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.[e]When you make his life an offering for sin,[f]he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.11 Out of his anguish he shall see light;[g]he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.The righteous one,[h] my servant, shall make many righteous,and he shall bear their iniquities.12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;because he poured out himself to death,and was numbered with the transgressors;yet he bore the sin of many,and made intercession for the transgressors.

The Eternal Covenant of Peace

54 Sing, O barren one who did not bear;burst into song and shout,you who have not been in labor!For the children of the desolate woman will be morethan the children of her that is married, says the Lord.2 Enlarge the site of your tent,and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;do not hold back; lengthen your cordsand strengthen your stakes.3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left,and your descendants will possess the nationsand will settle the desolate towns.

4 Do not fear, for you will not be ashamed;do not be discouraged, for you will not suffer disgrace;for you will forget the shame of your youth,and the disgrace of your widowhood you will remember no more.5 For your Maker is your husband,the Lord of hosts is his name;the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,the God of the whole earth he is called.6 For the Lord has called youlike a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,like the wife of a man’s youth when she is cast off,says your God.7 For a brief moment I abandoned you,but with great compassion I will gather you.8 In overflowing wrath for a momentI hid my face from you,but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,says the Lord, your Redeemer.

9 This is like the days of Noah to me:Just as I swore that the waters of Noahwould never again go over the earth,so I have sworn that I will not be angry with youand will not rebuke you.10 For the mountains may departand the hills be removed,but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

11 O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,I am about to set your stones in antimony,and lay your foundations with sapphires.[i]12 I will make your pinnacles of rubies,your gates of jewels,and all your wall of precious stones.13 All your children shall be taught by the Lord,and great shall be the prosperity of your children.14 In righteousness you shall be established;you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;and from terror, for it shall not come near you.15 If anyone stirs up strife,it is not from me;whoever stirs up strife with youshall fall because of you.16 See it is I who have created the smithwho blows the fire of coals,and produces a weapon fit for its purpose;I have also created the ravager to destroy.17 No weapon that is fashioned against you shall prosper,and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.This is the heritage of the servants of the Lordand their vindication from me, says the Lord.

An Invitation to Abundant Life

55 Ho, everyone who thirsts,come to the waters;and you that have no money,come, buy and eat!Come, buy wine and milkwithout money and without price.2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,and your labor for that which does not satisfy?Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,and delight yourselves in rich food.3 Incline your ear, and come to me;listen, so that you may live.I will make with you an everlasting covenant,my steadfast, sure love for David.4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples,a leader and commander for the peoples.5 See, you shall call nations that you do not know,and nations that do not know you shall run to you,because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,for he has glorified you.

6 Seek the Lord while he may be found,call upon him while he is near;7 let the wicked forsake their way,and the unrighteous their thoughts;let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your waysand my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,and do not return there until they have watered the earth,making it bring forth and sprout,giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;it shall not return to me empty,but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

12 For you shall go out in joy,and be led back in peace;the mountains and the hills before youshall burst into song,and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Sirach 5

Sirach 5New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Precepts for Everyday Living

5 Do not rely on your wealth,or say, “I have enough.”2 Do not follow your inclination and strengthin pursuing the desires of your heart.3 Do not say, “Who can have power over me?”for the Lord will surely punish you.

4 Do not say, “I sinned, yet what has happened to me?”for the Lord is slow to anger.5 Do not be so confident of forgiveness[a]that you add sin to sin.6 Do not say, “His mercy is great,he will forgive[b] the multitude of my sins,”for both mercy and wrath are with him,and his anger will rest on sinners.7 Do not delay to turn back to the Lord,and do not postpone it from day to day;for suddenly the wrath of the Lord will come upon you,and at the time of punishment you will perish.8 Do not depend on dishonest wealth,for it will not benefit you on the day of calamity.

9 Do not winnow in every wind,or follow every path.[c]10 Stand firm for what you know,and let your speech be consistent.11 Be quick to hear,but deliberate in answering.12 If you know what to say, answer your neighbor;but if not, put your hand over your mouth.

13 Honor and dishonor come from speaking,and the tongue of mortals may be their downfall.14 Do not be called double-tongued[d]and do not lay traps with your tongue;for shame comes to the thief,and severe condemnation to the double-tongued.15 In great and small matters cause no harm,[e]

Hebrews 8

Hebrews 8New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Mediator of a Better Covenant

8 Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent[a] that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. 4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 5 They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one; for Moses, when he was about to erect the tent,[b] was warned, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” 6 But Jesus[c] has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one.

“The days are surely coming, says the Lord,when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israeland with the house of Judah;9 not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors,on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt;for they did not continue in my covenant,and so I had no concern for them, says the Lord.10 This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israelafter those days, says the Lord:I will put my laws in their minds,and write them on their hearts,and I will be their God,and they shall be my people.11 And they shall not teach one anotheror say to each other, ‘Know the Lord,’for they shall all know me,from the least of them to the greatest.12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,and I will remember their sins no more.”

13 In speaking of “a new covenant,” he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear.

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